This application is based upon, and claims the benefit of priority from, corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-065169 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Mar. 29, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the description in this section is not prior art to the claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
As a recording apparatus such as a facsimile, a copier, and a printer, an ink-jet recording apparatus that forms an image by discharging an ink is widely used for a reason that it can form a high-resolution image.
A typical ink-jet recording apparatus generally performs a recovery process that forcibly extrudes an ink having increased viscosity in an ink discharge opening from an ink discharge opening and wipes off the ink with a wiper. In view of this, the ink-jet recording apparatus includes a recording head that discharges the ink onto a paper sheet (recording medium) and a wipe unit that cleans the recording head.
The wipe unit includes a wiper and a collecting tray. The wiper wipes off the forcibly extruded ink. The collecting tray is arranged under the wiper and collects the ink wiped off with the wiper. The collecting tray includes a discharge port that discharges the collected ink. The ink discharged from the discharge port is accumulated in a waste ink container.
There is proposed an ink-jet recording apparatus that performs a recovery process of a recording head with a wipe unit.
A wipe unit according to one aspect of the disclosure cleans a recording head having an ink discharge surface on which an ink discharge opening that discharges an ink onto a recording medium opens. The wipe unit includes a wiper and a collecting tray. The wiper wipes off an ink forcibly extruded from the ink discharge opening. The collecting tray is arranged under the wiper. The collecting tray collects the ink wiped off with the wiper. The collecting tray includes a discharge port and a plurality of ribs. The discharge port discharges the collected ink downward, and the plurality of ribs are arranged so as to surround a peripheral area of the discharge port and arranged with a predetermined interval from one another in a circumferential direction of the discharge port.
These as well as other aspects, advantages, and alternatives will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the following detailed description with reference where appropriate to the accompanying drawings. Further, it should be understood that the description provided in this summary section and elsewhere in this document is intended to illustrate the claimed subject matter by way of example and not by way of limitation.
Example apparatuses are described herein. Other example embodiments or features may further be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.
The example embodiments described herein are not meant to be limiting. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the drawings, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.
The following describes an embodiment of the disclosure with reference to the drawings.
With reference to
The printer 100 internally includes a first paper sheet conveyance passage 4a. With regard to the sheet feed cassette 2, the first paper sheet conveyance passage 4a is located in the upper right side, which is a paper feeding direction of the sheet feed cassette 2. The first paper sheet conveyance passage 4a conveys the paper sheet P fed from the sheet feed cassette 2 perpendicularly upward along a side surface of the printer main body 1.
In a downstream end of the first paper sheet conveyance passage 4a in the paper sheet conveyance direction, a registration roller pair 13 is located. Additionally, a first conveyance unit 5 and a recording unit 9 are arranged immediately close to a downstream of the registration roller pair 13 in the paper sheet conveyance direction. The paper sheet P fed from the sheet feed cassette 2 reaches the registration roller pair 13 passing through the first paper sheet conveyance passage 4a. The registration roller pair 13 corrects oblique feeding of the paper sheet P and feeds the paper sheet P toward the first conveyance unit 5 by measuring timing with the ink discharging operation executed by the recording unit 9.
In a downstream (left side in
In a downstream of the second conveyance unit 12 in the paper sheet conveyance direction and adjacent to a left side surface of the printer main body 1, a decurler unit 14 is located. The paper sheet P where the ink has been dried by the second conveyance unit 12 is fed to the decurler unit 14. Then, a curling caused in the paper sheet P is corrected.
In a downstream (upper side in
In an upper portion of the printer main body 1 and over the recording unit 9 and the second conveyance unit 12, an inverting conveyance path 16 for performing duplex recording is located. When duplex recording is performed, the paper sheet P having passed through the second conveyance unit 12 and the decurler unit 14 after a termination of recording on a first surface is fed to the inverting conveyance path 16 through the second paper sheet conveyance passage 4b. Then, the conveyance direction of the paper sheet P fed to the inverting conveyance path 16 is switched for recording on a second surface, and the paper sheet P is fed rightward while passing through the upper portion of the printer main body 1. The paper sheet P is fed to the first conveyance unit 5 again in a state where the second surface faces upward through the first paper sheet conveyance passage 4a and the registration roller pair 13.
Under the second conveyance unit 12, the wipe unit 19 and a cap unit 50 are arranged. The wipe unit 19 horizontally moves under the recording unit 9 when a purge, which will be described later, is executed to wipe off the ink extruded from ink discharge openings of recording heads and collects the wiped off ink. The cap unit 50 horizontally moves under the recording unit 9 when ink discharge surfaces of the recording heads are capped, and further moves upward to be mounted on lower surfaces of the recording heads.
The recording unit 9 includes a head housing 10 and line heads 11C, 11M, 11Y and 11K held in the head housing 10 as illustrated in
As illustrated in
Four color (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) inks stored in respective ink tanks (not illustrated) are supplied to the recording heads 17a to 17c, which constitute the respective line heads 11C to 11K, for the respective colors of the line heads 11C to 11K.
Corresponding to image data received from an external computer or similar unit, each of the recording heads 17a to 17c discharges an ink from the ink discharge openings 18 toward the paper sheet P, which is conveyed while being suctioned and held to the conveying surface of the first conveyance belt 8, by a control signal from a control unit 110 (see
In this printer 100, the ink is forcibly discharged from the ink discharge openings 18 of all the recording heads 17a to 17c, and the ink discharge surfaces F are wiped off with wipers 35a to 35c, which will be described later, in preparation for the next printing operation, when printing starts after stopping for a long period of time and between printing operations, in order to clean the ink discharge surfaces F of the recording heads 17a to 17c.
Next, a detailed description will be given of the cap unit 50 and the wipe unit 19, and a structure in a peripheral area.
As illustrated in
The cap unit 50 is configured to be movable back and forth between a first position (position in
The cap unit 50 is arranged at the second position (position in
As illustrated in
The cap portions 53 are arranged at positions corresponding to the recording heads 17a to 17c. In view of this, the cap unit 50 moving upward at the first position as illustrated in
As illustrated in
The wipe unit 19 is arranged at the second position when in the printing operation. The wipe unit 19 is configured to move upward at the first position (position in
As illustrated in
On end edges, which oppose a direction of an arrow AA′, on a top surface of the support frame 40, rail portions 41a and 41b are formed. Rollers 36 located at four corners of the wiper carriage 31 abut on the rail portions 41a and 41b, and thus, the wiper carriage 31 is slidably supported in the direction of the arrow BB′ with respect to the support frame 40.
Outside the support frame 40, a wiper carriage moving motor 45 for moving the wiper carriage 31 in the horizontal direction (direction in arrow BB′) and a gear train (not illustrated) that engages with rack teeth (not illustrated) of the wiper carriage moving motor 45 and the wiper carriage 31 are mounted. The wiper carriage moving motor 45 rotating in positive and negative directions causes the gear train to rotate in the positive and negative directions, and thus, the wiper carriage 31 reciprocates in the horizontal direction (direction in arrow BB′).
The wipers 35a to 35c are elastic members (rubber member made of, for example, EPDM) for wiping off the ink extruded from the ink discharge openings 18 of the respective recording heads 17a to 17c. The wipers 35a to 35c are brought into pressure contact with wipe-off start positions outside the ink discharge regions R (see
The four wipers 35a are arranged at approximately regular intervals, and similarly, the four wipers 35b and the four wipers 35c are also arranged at respective approximately regular intervals. The wipers 35a and 35c are arranged at positions corresponding to the recording heads 17a and 17c (see
On the top surface of the support frame 40, a collecting tray 44 for collecting a waste ink wiped off from the ink discharge surfaces F with the wipers 35a to 35c are arranged. The waste ink collected in the collecting tray 44 is accumulated in a waste ink tank 93, which will be described later. A structure of a peripheral area of the collecting tray 44 will be described later.
As illustrated in
The carriage 80 is configured of a carriage bottom plate 81 (see
The carriage 80 internally includes a unit elevating mechanism 60 that moves the wipe unit 19 in the up and down direction as illustrated in
The wire 61a is mounted on a lower portion of the wipe unit 19 in the direction of the arrow A′ from the winding up pulley 62 via the pulley 63a. The wire 61b is mounted on a lower portion of the wipe unit 19 in the direction of the arrow A from the winding up pulley 62 via the pulleys 63a and 63b. Each of the wires 61a and 61b, the winding up pulley 62, the pulleys 63a and 63b are located one each on both sides (front side and far-side with respect to paper surface of
The wipe unit 19 includes a plurality of coupling pins 42 that extend upward as illustrated in
In a state where the wipe unit 19 is moved down at the second position (state in
At the second position, a cap supporting portion (not illustrated) that supports the cap unit 50 in a state where the wipe unit 19 is not coupled to the cap unit 50 (uncoupled state) is located. At the second position, a lid member (not illustrated) is located. The lid member protects the cap portions 53 by closely contacting the cap portions 53 of the cap unit 50 in a state where the wipe unit 19 is not coupled to the cap unit 50 (state except in capping operation (in printing operation and in recovery operation)). The lid member (not illustrated) closely contacts the cap portions 53 from above to prevent foreign objects such as dust and paper dust from accumulating on top surfaces (surfaces closely contact ink discharge surfaces F) of the cap portions 53, and reduces a lack of water content caused by the water content inside the cap portions 53 being vaporized.
Next, a detailed description will be given of a structure in a peripheral area of the collecting tray 44.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The groove 21 has a bottom surface 21a that is formed to incline downward toward the discharge port 23. The ink wiped off from the ink discharge surfaces F with the wipers 35a to 35c and dropped onto the tray surfaces 22, after flowing on the tray surfaces 22 toward the groove 21, flows in the groove 21 toward the discharge port 23. Then, the ink is suctioned by the pump 92, passes through the discharge tube 91, and is accumulated in the waste ink tank 93.
The groove 21 includes two screw stop portions 21b in cylindrical shapes. The screw stop portion 21b is secured to the support frame 40 with a screw 28. The screw stop portion 21b has an upper portion on which a lid portion 21c for preventing the ink from dropping into the screw stop portion 21b is located.
Here, in this embodiment, as illustrated in
The ribs 25 include a plurality of inner ribs 25a and a plurality of outer ribs 25b. The plurality of inner ribs 25a are arranged in a peripheral area of the discharge port 23 so as to form a circular shape with a predetermined interval from one another in the circumferential direction. The plurality of outer ribs 25b are arranged outside the inner ribs 25a so as to form a circular shape with a predetermined interval from one another in the circumferential direction.
As illustrated in
The inner ribs 25a include a plurality of first ribs 25c and a plurality of second ribs 25d. The plurality of first ribs 25c are located in the direction of the arrow AA′ with respect to the discharge port 23. The plurality of second ribs 25d are located in the direction of the arrow BB′ with respect to the discharge port 23. A part of the inner ribs 25a doubles as the first rib 25c and the second rib 25d. A first clearance S1 between the first ribs 25c is smaller than a second clearance S2 between the second ribs 25d.
In other words, between the inner ribs 25a adjacent in the circumferential direction, a clearance S is formed. A plurality of the clearances S include a plurality of the first clearances S1 and a plurality of the second clearances S2. The plurality of first clearances S1 are located in the direction of the arrow AA′ with respect to the discharge port 23. The plurality of second clearances S2 are located in the direction of the arrow BB′ with respect to the discharge port 23. The first clearance S1 is smaller than the second clearance S2.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Next, a description will be given of the recovery operation of the recording heads 17a to 17c in the printer 100 of the embodiment. The recovery operation and the capping operation described below are executed by controlling operations of, for example, the recording heads 17a to 17c, the wipe unit 19, the unit elevating mechanism 60, the unit horizontal move mechanism 85, the conveyance elevating mechanism, and the respective driving sources by a control signal from the control unit 110 (see
When the wipe unit 19 performs the recovery process of the recording heads 17a to 17c, the first conveyance unit 5 located facing the lower surface of the recording unit 9 (see
As illustrated in
Then, the unit elevating mechanism 60 moves up the wipe unit 19 as illustrated in
Prior to a wiping operation, the ink is supplied to the recording heads 17a to 17c. The supplied ink is forcibly extruded (purged) from the ink discharge openings 18 (see
Then, the wiping operation that wipes off the ink (purge ink) extruded to the ink discharge surfaces F is performed. Specifically, rotating the wiper carriage moving motor 45 in a normal direction from the state illustrated in
Then, the unit elevating mechanism 60 (see
The carriage 80 and the wipe unit 19 arranged at the first position are horizontally moved from the first position to the second position. This arranges the wipe unit 19 under the cap unit 50. Thus, the recovery operation of the recording heads 17a to 17c is terminated.
The ink dropped onto the tray surfaces 22 of the collecting tray 44, after flowing on the tray surfaces 22 toward the groove 21, flows in the groove 21 toward the discharge port 23. The ink passes through the clearances between the ribs 25 to reach the discharge port 23, and the suction of the pump 92 causes the ink to pass through the discharge tube 91 and to be accumulated in the waste ink tank 93.
Next, a description will be given of an operation (capping operation) to mount the cap unit 50 to the recording heads 17a to 17c in the printer 100 of the embodiment.
When the cap unit 50 caps the recording heads 17a to 17c, the first conveyance unit 5 located facing the lower surface of the recording unit 9 (see
Then, the unit elevating mechanism 60 (see
Then, as illustrated in
The unit elevating mechanism 60 moves up the wipe unit 19 and the cap unit 50 as illustrated in
In this embodiment, as described above, the plurality of ribs 25, which are arranged so as to surround the peripheral area of the discharge port 23 and arranged with the predetermined interval from one another in the circumferential direction of the discharge port 23, are located on the top surface of the collecting tray 44. With this, even when foreign objects or similar object drop on the collecting tray 44, the plurality of ribs 25 can reduce the foreign objects or similar object flowing into the discharge port 23, thereby ensuring reduced clogging of the discharge port 23 due to the foreign objects or similar object. This ensures reduced overflow of the ink from the collecting tray 44.
As described above, the ribs 25 include the plurality of inner ribs 25a and the plurality of outer ribs 25b located outside the inner ribs 25a. With this, the inner ribs 25a can stop the foreign objects or similar object that has slipped through the clearances between the outer ribs 25b, thereby ensuring further reducing the foreign objects or similar object flowing into the discharge port 23.
As described above, the inner ribs 25a and the outer ribs 25b are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction. This ensures colliding the foreign objects or similar object that has slipped through the clearances between the outer ribs 25b against the inner ribs 25a, thereby ensuring effectively reducing the foreign objects or similar object flowing into the discharge port 23.
As described above, on the top surfaces of the inner ribs 25a, the cover member 29, which covers the region surrounded by the plurality of inner ribs 25a, is located. This ensures reducing the foreign objects or similar object directly getting into the discharge port 23 from above, thereby ensuring further reduced clogging of the discharge port 23 due to the foreign objects or similar object.
As described above, the top surfaces of the collecting tray 44 include the supporting portions 26, which support the cover member 29, and the positioning protrusions 27, which position the cover member 29. This ensures stably supporting the cover member 29 and reduced position shift of the cover member 29.
As described above, the first clearance S1 located in the direction of the arrow AA′ with respect to the discharge port 23 is smaller than the second clearances S2 located in the direction of the arrow BB′ with respect to the discharge port 23. On this collecting tray 44, the ink dropped on the tray surfaces 22 flows on the tray surfaces 22 toward the groove 21. Then, while a part of the ink (ink dropped in centers of the tray surfaces 22 in direction of arrow AA′) passes through the second clearances S2, the most part of the ink passes through the first clearances S1 after flowing in the groove 21 in the direction of the arrow AA′ toward the discharge port 23. In view of this, the most part of the foreign objects or similar object flow toward the first clearances S1. Therefore, the first clearance S1 being smaller than the second clearance S2 ensures more effectively stopping the foreign objects or similar object.
For example, while in the above-described embodiment, it has been described an example that performs the recovery operation of the recording heads 17a to 17c by using only the ink (purge ink), the recovery operation of the recording heads 17a to 17c may be performed by using the ink and a cleaning liquid.
While in the above-described embodiment, it has been described an example that locates the inner ribs 25a and the outer ribs 25b in the peripheral area of the discharge port 23, the disclosure is not limited to this. Only the inner ribs 25a may be located in the peripheral area of the discharge port 23. The plurality of ribs 25 may be additionally located outside the outer ribs 25b.
In order to achieve the above-described object, a wipe unit according to a first aspect of the disclosure is a wipe unit that cleans a recording head having an ink discharge surface on which an ink discharge opening that discharges an ink onto a recording medium opens. The wipe unit includes a wiper that wipes off an ink forcibly extruded from the ink discharge opening and a collecting tray that is arranged under the wiper and collects the ink wiped off with the wiper. The collecting tray includes a discharge port that discharges the collected ink downward, and a plurality of ribs arranged so as to surround a peripheral area of the discharge port and arranged with a predetermined interval from one another in a circumferential direction of the discharge port.
With the wipe unit according to the first aspect of the disclosure, the collecting tray includes the plurality of ribs arranged so as to surround the peripheral area of the discharge port and arranged with the predetermined interval from one another in the circumferential direction of the discharge port. With this, even when foreign objects or similar object drop on the collecting tray, the plurality of ribs can reduce the foreign objects or similar object flowing into the discharge port, thereby ensuring reduced clogging of the discharge port due to the foreign objects or similar object. This ensures reduced overflow of the ink from the collecting tray.
While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2018-065169 | Mar 2018 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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20090201334 | Hasegawa | Aug 2009 | A1 |
20140374631 | Sherrit | Dec 2014 | A1 |
20160046128 | Tanda | Feb 2016 | A1 |
20160185121 | Somete | Jun 2016 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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2007-216466 | Aug 2007 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20190299618 A1 | Oct 2019 | US |